US Hispanic senator indicted on corruption charges

Washington, April 2 (IANS) The US Department of Justice has charged Senator Robert Menendez with having accepted gifts from a long-time friend and campaign donor who wanted the lawmaker's help in a dispute with federal agencies, a charge he attributed to “political motivations”.

The gifts came from Salomon Melgen, a Dominican-born eye doctor who owns four clinics in Florida, Spanish news agency Efe reported.

Besides assisting the ophthalmologist in a conflict with Medicare about alleged over-billing, the New Jersey Democrat is said to have pressured authorities in the Dominican Republic on Melgen's behalf in a dispute over an ostensible contract to provide port security.

"Every action I and my office have taken for the 23 years that I have been privileged to serve in the US Congress has been based on pursuing the best policies for the people of New Jersey and of this entire country," Menendez said on March 6 when the Justice Department notified him that he was the target of an investigation.

The 61-year-old senator also rejected criticism of his relationship with Melgen, insisting that they had been "real friends for more than two decades".

In 2012, Melgen's business donated more than $700,000 to Majority PAC, a political action committee that supported Democratic senatorial candidates.